Content
Content
Disposal of the Building Materials Division effected
Following the approval by the competition authorities and a satisfactory due diligence report the disposal of the Building Materials Division has been effected today.
The supervisory board therefore recommends the launch of a share buy-back programme of up to DKK 100 million.
Today Dalhoff Larsen & Horneman A/S (DLH) finalised the sale of its shares in DLH Træ & Byg A/S, and thus the Building Materials Division, to Saint-Gobain Distribution Nordic AB, a company in the Saint-Gobain Group, cf. stock exchange announcement no. 13 of 20 December 2007.
The Building Materials Division, which is marketed under the name XL-BYG Horneman, is Denmark’s third largest capital chain within the building materials trade. The business activities are expected to produce revenue of DKK 1,815 million and EBIT of approximately DKK 77 million in 2007. The division employs approximately 550 staff in 19 timber merchant companies, eleven of which have an affiliated do-it-yourself store.
The share transfer has now been approved by the competition authorities, and the transaction takes effect as of today. The selling price for the shares in DLH Træ & Byg A/S is provisionally prepared at DKK 825 million. The final price will be calculated when the accounts for the Building Materials Division as of 29 February 2008 are available and is expected not to differ considerably from the provisionally prepared price.
Share buy-back programme
As a result of the disposal of the Building Materials Division, the supervisory board will propose a resolution concerning a share buy-back programme of up to DKK 100 million, the equivalent of almost 8% of the listed Class B share capital based on the current share price, at the annual general meeting on 16 April 2008.
The share buy-back programme will be implemented in accordance with the ‘safe-harbour’ method approved by the EU. The programme is expected to be launched following the publication of the group’s Q1 report on 23 May 2008 and concluded before the end of 2008. The shares will be cancelled following the buy-back.